A Bit of Advice
by jayer
Summary: Rose gets some advice about her pursuit of Frederick Dean from a very unexpected source. Post The Undead and the Unsaid
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Wade."

"George." Wade nodded as he finished pulling a beer. "You watch the game?"

"Caught the end." George pulled out his wallet. "What's my total?"

Wade grabbed a slip of paper. "$6.73"

George held out a ten. "Keep the change."

Wade rung up the bill, dropping the change in the tip jar. Business had been pretty good lately and everyone was being generous with their tips. So generous that Wade was thinking about doing a little shopping. Getting free room and board for working on the old plantation, plus some handyman work here and there, let him be a bit more extravagant at times. He'd cracked the screen on his cell phone when it fell out of his pocket and he couldn't help thinking perhaps it was time to get one of those fancy smart phones that could get on the Internet. Or maybe he'd get himself a computer and stop using Lavon's or going to the library. Then again, he had two people to buy presents for this holiday so perhaps he'd just save the money for that.

"Hey Wade." Charlie's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Got an order for ya."

Wade grabbed the plates. Zoe and Rose were deep in conversation when he walked up.

"Give it time." Zoe was saying as he laid down the plates.

Wade rolled his eyes. He could guess the topic, it was the only one that Rose ever talked about.

"You want some real advice. Give it up."

"Wade. You aren't helping." Zoe shot back as Wade grabbed a chair from the neighboring table, spinning it around so he could lean on the back.

"Look Rose, I know you didn't ask me but I'm going to give you a bit of advice. From someone that used to be a 15 year old boy so I know a heck of a lot more about what they're like.

"Boys are stupid. Especially teenage boys. It's not our fault. It's part of being a teenage boy and all that puberty stuff."

"Puberty? That's your excuse." Wade held a hand up to stop Zoe, only to get it slapped away.

"Trust me Rose. Boys hit puberty and all we think about are boobs."

"Boobs?"

"Boobs, tits, breasts."

"I know what they are. But boys don't think about nothing but girl's breasts."

"Oh yeah. They do. Even when they are thinking about something else, or trying to think about something else, a girl walks by and all they can think about is her boobs. How big they are, what they look like, touching them. It's that whole boobs are about feeding babies, which goes with making babies, which is most of why there's sex in the first place so human beings don't die out like in those end of the world movies. All those hormones make boys think like that, it's what puberty's for. To make us want to make babies."

"And some of you never grow out of it." Zoe said out of the side of her mouth.

"Look Rose, you're a pretty girl but lets face it, you're as flat as a popsicle stick. Especially compared to a girl like Magnolia Breeland. And when it comes to teenage boys and the whole hormone thing, bigger is better."

Wade stood up and slid the chair back over to the empty table.

"Take my advice and just move on." He nodded and started to walk back to the bar.

"Well maybe some boys are like that but not Frederick Dean." Rose shot back, stopping Wade in his tracks.


	2. Chapter 2

"But not Frederick Dean." Wade shook his head. "Course you'd say that. You like him. When we like someone it's natural to defend him or her when someone says something nasty. But it doesn't mean that nasty stuff isn't true. Trust me, I was 15 on-"

Wade stopped short.

"Actually come to think of it when I was 15 I was about 5'3" and I was a pimply faced stick. I spent the summer doing about a thousand pushups and situps a day trying to bulk up so I wouldn't spend yet another year of school getting stuck in lockers. Didn't do any good for like another year, which was about the time I got hit with boob brain. So maybe Frederick Dean is a late bloomer like I was and he has yet to succumb to all those hormones. Which just makes it a lot worse."

"Wade, please." Zoe shook her head. "Your theory is cute but really."

"How is it worse?" Rose asked softly.

"Because," Wade said, his voice turning soft. "Hormones making a boy stupid is annoying but he can't help himself. But if those hormones aren't making him stupid then Frederick Dean willfully picked Magnolia Breeland over you and that is the most extreme stupid there is.

"Because I'll tell you something else that's 100% true. Magnolia Breeland is nothing. Sure she's 'blossomed' and all that. She's got those dumb goldilocks curls and she buys her hand made dresses and her clothes at the mall in Mobile where they charge you $60 for a pair of jeans that aren't any better looking or comfortable than the ones you and I buy for $15 at the thrift store. And her family has owned that house and that land going back to ole Cyrus himself and that makes them some kind of Bluebell high society. The three of them parade around like they're something special and folks act like it's true. But take her out of Bluebell and she's the same white trash country hick folks in New York or Los Angeles or wherever think we all are. She's going to live her whole life in Bluebell being special and doing nothing that really matters. In the end, Magnolia Breeland is a cheap dime store chocolate Santa left over from last year. Take off the pretty wrapper and it's a melted stale mess with nothing inside"

Wade smiled softly. He knelt down and lifted Rose's chin up with his finger so they were looking eye to eye. "But you, Rose Marie Hattenberger. You aren't cheap dime store candy. You're imported swiss milk chocolate full of gooey caramel nutty goodness. Sure you might be a little stick of a thing and you wear glasses and second hand clothes and all that. But you've got substance. There's something inside you. You're smart and creative. You write stories that make the most common things sound exciting and you take some pretty good pictures with that cheap little camera of yours. You'll go places and you'll do things that will change the world. And I'll finally have a photo worthy of putting up on the wall. Cause I've got my wall of heroes OF Bluebell, but I've always wanted one for heroes FROM Bluebell and I'd be proud to have you front and center.

"One day some boy is going to come along and see how totally cool you are and he's going to fall head over heels in love with you and be the boy you totally deserve. It might not happen tomorrow, or next year or even in Bluebell. But it will happen. You just have to be patient and keep being you and not trying to be like someone who's nothing. You're better than that. And if you have to try to be like Magnolia Breeland for some boy to notice you, well he doesn't deserve you. And I'll be happy to tell him that myself."

Wade perked up at the sound of the bell over the door. He leaned up and gave Rose a kiss on the forehead. "You ladies have a good afternoon."


	3. Chapter 3

Wade wasn't surprised to see Zoe waiting for him when he got him.

"Zoe." He unlocked the door and stepped back. "You wanna come inside?"

"No thanks. I just wanted to say that what you said to Zoe was really nice. I know she can be a little annoying and you wanted her to shut up, but you didn't have a stapler handy"

"If I had wanted her to shut up I would have just told her to shut up. I said what I said because I meant it. Every word of it."

"Really?"

"Really. Although for the sake of being truthful I can't really take the credit. For the words maybe, but not the general idea. That came from Harley."

"Harley. My father Harley?"

"Only one Bluebell has ever had."

"Why was Harley giving you advice?"

"My mother died when I was 14 and Earl, well he pretty much checked out on being a father. Harley took it upon himself to keep an eye on me. Helped me out a lot of ways over the years."

"And now you're helping out his daughter. Some kind of pay it forward or something."

"Never thought about it like that but sure, I suppose it makes it a bit harder for me to be annoyed with you when you're just being you."

"Well thank you for that. It's nice having someone I can count on."

"Any time Doc." Wade smiled. "Now if you don't mind, I'm beat and I've got a long list of things that need fixing up to work on tomorrow."

"There was one thing."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"How come you aren't following Harley's advice?"

"What makes you say I'm not?"

"Because you act like all you can give someone is sex and clearly it's not. You're sweet and maybe you are just a handyman and a bartender but you're also pretty smart. When you let that part of Wade out, it's something special. Any girl would be lucky to have that Wade by her side."

"Any girl?" Wade smiled, leaning in to give Zoe a kiss only to have her step away.

"You deserve someone that'll be here and when my year is up, I'm going back to New York. We're better off just being friends and saving you the potential heartbreak."

"I suppose you're right." Wade sighed.

"Good night, Wade."

Wade watched as Zoe turned and walked the short path back to the Carriage House. He waited until she was inside with the door closed before he turned and went inside himself.

Their conversation echoed in his head as Wade took a shower and redressed in clean boxers and a tee shirt. He climbed into bed and found himself unable to fall asleep. Being unable to fall sleep was not uncommon for Wade. But usually it was because he was too wired from work.

Wade flipped on the lamp by his bed. He pulled a box out of the top of his closet. He hadn't looked it it in the months since Harley died and he had boxed up Harley's belongings to send to charity. That one box was filled with all the personal things that Wade couldn't bear to just toss out. He dropped the box on the bed and pulled out a pair of well worn photo albums. Wade knew without opening them that the books were filled with photos of babies Harley had delivered, children in halloween costumes and the like. He'd even taken some of the photos.

But what he was looking for was the framed photo he had carefully wrapped up in a clean kitchen towel. Wade remembered the day the package had arrived at the doctors office. Harley had offered him some pocket money to come clean up the branches and leaves that the wind had blown all over the yard during a wind storm. Wade was tying up the last of the bags when the mail arrived. He remembered watching Harley reading the note before pulling out the photo. It was of a girl, around 17, in her graduation cap and gown. She had long brown hair and pretty brown eyes. And even after ten years, Wade still thought she was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

"Potential heartbreak, Doc." Wade sighed. "Too late."


End file.
